Take italian to your school

“TAKE ITALIAN TO YOUR SCHOOL”

Italy is one of the most steadfast and active transatlantic partners for the U.S. Italy and the United States co-operate within a number of international organizations, including the United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, G-20, G-8, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. Also, Italy is an observer to the Organization of American States. The two countries work together worldwide, particularly in crucial conflict areas, as Italy is a leader in peacekeeping operations around the world.

By hosting Milan Expo 2015: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” Italy has shown its commitment to meeting the challenge of feeding nine billion people by 2050. Regarding excellence in food/wine production and cuisine, Italy is a world leader, as demonstrated, among a plethora of successful companies in the world, by the quick expansion of Eataly (+28% in 2015, and an estimated $1 billion in sales by 2018) wherever it opened its food stores, including Chicago.

The most impressive area of technological cooperation is aerospace research. In 1962, NASA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Italian Space Commission, which led to the launch of one of the earliest satellites ever placed in orbit around the Earth.  In 2013, the United States and Italy celebrated 50 years of cooperation in outer space and signed an agreement to facilitate U.S.-Italy cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space.  NASA considers Italy one of its most important EU partners. As another example, Fincantieri (with headquarters in Marinette, WI) is responsible with supplying combat ships to the US Navy. Italy is the world leader in the production of yachts.

Between five and six million U.S. tourists visit Italy each year. Americans and Italians participate in a wide variety of exchange programs.  In 2015, Italy hosted more than 31,000 American exchange students on study abroad programs, second only to the United Kingdom as a destination for American exchange students.  The Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange between Italy and the United States (the Fulbright Commission) is one of the oldest and largest in Europe.  Since 1948, more than 10,000 U.S. and Italian students, teachers, lecturers, and researchers have been awarded Fulbright grants. The Business Exchange and Student Training program brings young managers and entrepreneurs in science and engineering to the United States to pursue academic coursework and training in entrepreneurship.  In 2013 the “Year of Italian Culture in the United States” was celebrated, with a year-long series of exhibits, conferences, concerts, and symposia providing the American people with new opportunities to learn about Italian art, culture, and innovation in science, technology, and design. The best example of scientific cooperation in the Midwest can be found at Fermilab in Batavia. Named after Italian physicist Enrico Fermi who spent the last, productive part of his life in Chicago, Fermilab is the US premier particle physics laboratory, which hosts about one hundred Italian scientists.

Last but not least, Italian has the reputation of being the language of music and the arts. German author Thomas Mann defined Italian as the angels’ language for its musicality. As the most direct descendant of Latin, which provided the bulk of vocabulary to Roman languages, but also an estimated 60% to English, Italian has been preserved virtually unaltered since medieval times, when it was expurgated of harsh sounds by poets, notably Dante and Petrarch, to be suitable for elegant elocution. In the 1600s when opera began in Florence, Italian became the official language of music. The present Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is Riccardo Muti, one of the most distinguished maestros in the world. Also, Italy boasts the highest number of Unesco world heritage sites (51), and some 60% of the world’s arts heritage, produced over the millennia but particularly since the Renaissance.

Those planning careers in the fields in which the US and Italy have a robust cooperation would greatly benefit from knowing Italian. But it should not be forgotten that one of the gifts of the Italian language to those who learn it – its ‘added value’ – is a direct access to the enjoyment of the arts throughout one’s life. Since 2005, when the College Board established the Italian Advanced Placement Exam, the students of Italian may take the exam and receive college credits. For University students, the Italian language opens great opportunities both in the fields of technology, and the humanities. But to ensure mastery of the Italian language, the sooner one starts learning it, the better.

Nationally, the largest Italian American Organizations are the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF); the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA); and UNICO National (UNICO). In the Midwest, there are a number of Italian-American societies, including: Casa Italia (Stone Park, Chicago), ItalIdea Midwest (Chicago), WisItalia (Milwaukee), NOI Foundation (Detroit), besides local branches of the national organizations. Please do not hesitate to contact these organizations for assistance and financial support.

• 
  Assess the ground. Make sure the school community shows a favorable context for taking Italian.
  
• 
  Speak informally to colleagues, parents, board members to assess their interest. Consider making copies of the fact sheet for distribution.
  
• 
  Find support in a group of interested parents, students, community members, volunteers.
  
• 
  Give them copies of the kit materials.
  
• 
  Do not consider this the ultimate checklist. Adapt it constantly to your needs and to the characteristics of the school and local community.
  

PREPARING YOUR CAMPAIGN:

• 
  Establish a group of “Friends of the Italian language”. Propose committees (e.g. fund-raising; school relations; external relations; media relations);
  
• 
  Organize with the help of volunteers an Italian event at your school (e.g. a lunch, a presentation of Italy, a skype connection with an Italian school);
  
• 
  Gather as many facts as you can on the presence of Italian American kids in your community (The number of Italian Americans in your city can be asked to NIAF at 202/387-0600;
  
• 
  Publicize your contacts (telephone, email, e.g. with a poster size sheet in the school hall);
  
• 
  Keep constantly posted your world language coordinator, the school principal and local school board about what you are doing and planning to do;
  
• 
  Elaborate a questionnaire and circulate it in your school to survey student interest;
  
• 
  Create a typed “fact sheet” that lists in short bullet form:
  

• 
  Your survey results showing students’ interest in Italian;
  
• 
  Why all students would prospectively benefit from learning Italian;(See “Fact Sheet”)
  
• 
  Estimated cost to teach Italian at your school;
  
• 
  How many course of Italian it would be sustainable to activate;
  
• 
  How much the program would cost in the first three years;
  
• 
  Time frame for launching the program.
  

• 
  Organize meetings with school officials and parents to show facts and figures to build a persuasive case. Your aim should be to convince them that all students in the school will prospectively benefit from learning Italian, not just children of Italian descent.
  
• 
  Do not be impatient. Give people the time to think about your proposal. It may take a year or more to start Italian at your school. Have a B-plan ready. If it can’t be taught during school hours, suggest after school or pre-school classes.
  

WHEN THE PROPOSAL HAS BEEN ACCEPTED:

• 
  Do not allow the initiative to lose momentum. Continue organizing regular meetings and keep your contacts.
  
• 
  Write an article for the school magazine/bulletin;
  
• 
  Contact the local press to have them publish pictures or articles on the program.
  

DATE:______________________

SCHOOL:_________________________________

STUDENT’S NAME:_____________________________________________

TEACHER’S NAME:_____________________________________________

GRADE: __________________________

Are you aware that you must study a foreign language in high school and college?

Yes______ No______

If your school taught Italian, would you take it?

Yes ______ No ______

If Italian were not offered during school hours, would you

come to school early to learn it? Yes ______ No _______

Stay after school to learn it? Yes ______No _______

Would you like to visit Italy one day?

Yes _____ No _______

Do you plan to go to college?

Yes______ No______

I would like to learn Italian because:

A. I am of Italian descent

B. I want to visit Italy someday

C. Italian is necessary for my future studies

D. I am interested in Italian culture (Circle as many answers as you wish.)

E. Other ______________________________________

SAMPLE COVER LETTER

(TO ACCOMPANY THE LANGUAGE QUESTIONNAIRE)

After obtaining the permission of your principal, send this letter to your school’s language

and classroom teachers with copies of the questionnaire. Include a large, self-addressed

envelope with the right postage or arrange with the teacher for you to pick up the

questionnaires at the school.

Dear _________________________(Teacher’s name):

I am doing a research project and would like to invite your classes to participate. The

attached survey will provide me with important information about our school’s foreign

language program.

As you know, foreign languages are required in most high schools and colleges. Our survey

is designed to see how many children at ______________________(name of school) would

like to learn Italian.

If this survey reveals a strong interest, I will discuss the results with the relevant school

authorities to possibly have Italian added into our curriculum.

For your convenience, the surveys can be returned to me in the attached stamped, self-addressed envelope. Should you desire a copy of the summary results of this survey,

please write “copy of results requested” on the back of the return envelope, and print your

name and address below it.

If you have any questions please write or call me. My telephone number is:

_____________________ and my e-mail address is ___________________________.

I would be deeply grateful for your timely help in this project. The survey is short and

should not take up too much class time, but the results could be of great benefit to your

students, who might want to discuss this with their parents. Thank you.

Yours truly,

(Your Name, Address and Telephone Number)

school. Therefore, it is important that there are enough students enrolled in an Italian Level

III or Level IV course at the high school level.

Many students in the upper levels are seniors and will leave the school. Thus, the AP courses have generally, a fewer number of students registered. Some principals, however, may allow an AP course to run with a smaller number of students.

To help with this situation it is important, wherever possible, to try to have the regular

study of Italian begin at the Middle School Level.

Efforts should then be made to go to all those Middle Schools whose students will attend the

High Schools where an Italian Program is already being offered. This way in the Italian

Level III or IV courses, there will be many sophomore and junior students who will be able

to register in sufficient number in the Level IV AP Course.

Naturally, it will be a good thing to also start programs in Italian in those Middle Schools

and High Schools where an Italian program is not offered, as it may be a way to have these

schools initiate a program in Italian.

To make certain that an Italian AP course is offered and the students do very well, you must

ensure also that the school library, where the program is offered, has a collection of Italian

materials such as magazines, newspapers, literary, history and cultural books, videos and

audiotapes that the students can use and take home. Also, there should be Italian

materials such as Italian maps, posters and dictionaries in each classroom where the course

is taught.

Incentives can be offered to eligible high school students to motivate them to continue their

study of Italian for 4 years, and enroll in the AP Italian course in their senior year. For

example, scholarships are available from the COLUMBUS CITIZENS FOUNDATION, and other

organizations. Local Italian-American chapters of OSIA, UNICO NATIONAL, NIAF, and

NOIAW, and others, may provide scholarships to reward excellent high school students

enrolled in Italian language classes, including the AP Italian Program.

It would also be useful if you could give to the principals of the high schools, where the

Italian AP courses are offered, and to the teachers of Italian, a list of possible speakers,

experts in Italian and Italian-American historical events, important figures, artists and

artisans who have contributed to making the United States the nation it is today.

A list of Italian-American Organizations in the area where the high school is situated should

be provided to the teachers of Italian so that they can assist the schools with the purchase

of textbooks, help with students’ field trips and how to obtain scholarships. Whenever

possible, students should be invited to make presentations to meetings held by these

organizations.

PTAs are powerful volunteer organization that can play a major role in getting Italian

taught at your local school. Usually, the PTA holds general meetings several times a year,

but of even greater importance is the influential PTA Executive Board, which schedules

monthly meetings to allocate money and discuss programs.

All parents are welcome to attend the PTA Executive Board meetings. If a parent has an

item of business or expenditure that he or she wishes to have discussed, the usual

procedure is to call one of the PTA officers -- president, vice-president or secretary and ask

to have the item placed on the next meeting’s agenda. The parent initiating the agenda

item will be expected to attend that meeting and explain the item to the entire board.

STEPS TO TAKE:

Call the school’s main office or consult the school directory for the name and telephone

number of the PTA president, vice president or language program coordinator.

Contact the person by phone (if possible, meet him or her in person) to place your item on

the next PTA executive board meeting’s agenda.

Consider distributing copies of some relevant information in the kit, such as “Why Study

Highlight the advantages of learning Italian, cite other schools in the area that are teaching

Italian; suggest the possibility of getting a grant; provide contacts for more information and

allow time for discussion and questions.

Ask the PTA officers about the possibility of using the PTA’s help to send out your

questionnaire to students and parents to assess interest in learning Italian.

Offer to write an article about the benefits of learning Italian for the school bulletin.

Send the questionnaire’s survey results to the school principal and the PTA officers.

Request permission to publish the survey results in your school’s bulletin or website.

Have another meeting with the PTA executive board to discuss questionnaire results.

Try to make friends and allies on the PTA executive board who will help you further

with your plan to introduce Italian in the school.

THINGS TO DO:

Take the time to establish a relationship between your group and the principal you

approach. It is also a good idea to seek the support of other key staff members at

the school and in the educational committee of the PTA

Take a survey of students to assess interest in an Italian program (use the kit’s

questionnaire.) Offer their opinions and feedback as part of your presentation and in

your report.

Determine what kind of recruitment and/or training of new teaching staff is needed.

Research your community’s needs and interest in an Italian program. How much

community support is available from government agencies, the Italian Embassy or

the nearest Italian Consulate, Italian American organizations, local businesses,

churches, PTA, universities, and other groups? Include this information in your

report in bullet form. Be concise.

Present options for state, federal and/or private grants to support an Italian

program.

program might attract students, who otherwise would go to magnet or private

schools. It may also provide excellent professional opportunities and contacts for

staff and school leaders.

Prepare for the principal a concise, written report which outlines student interest,

financial costs and possible funding, faculty training, etc. for a pilot program in

Italian. Make an appointment to discuss it with him or her in person.

Always send a thank-you note to a principal who has met with you.

THINGS NOT TO DO:

Do not position the argument so that it appears that only Italian American students

would want to learn Italian. Stress instead that it is useful to all students. (See

“Why Study Italian?” in KIT)

Do not come to the meeting with a school principal unprepared or with inaccurate

information.

Do not be argumentative with the principal, even if he or she is not in immediate

agreement with your proposal. Eventually, you will succeed. It just takes time.

Public school Principals rely heavily on the school district’s Foreign Language Supervisor

or Coordinator for advice about which new languages should be added to their school.

Therefore, it is a very good idea to let your district’s foreign language supervisor or

coordinator know that you want to have Italian added to the curriculum. Here’s how.

Each school district has a District Foreign Language Coordinator or Supervisor and a

on the part of the parents to have Italian in your school. It is important to invite them to

parents’ meetings, or to any social meeting of Italian organizations to meet the members

and also to discuss the issue.

When the school district foreign language coordinator or supervisor attend the school

district curriculum meetings, they report all requests they have received for other

languages to be taught locally.

Each state also has a State Supervisor of Foreign Languages and ESL (English as a

Second Language) in the state capital. You can find out the name and telephone number

of this person by going to the Web Site of the “National Council for State Supervisors of

Write or visit the State Foreign Language Supervisor to let him/her know of your interest in

having Italian offered in your school district. The more people hear of this interest, the

better are the chances of it happening.

PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS: for private and parochial schools you must see the

school’s Foreign Language Chairperson. If your school does not have one, go directly to

the principal.

Parochial Schools: If the principal or the director are not cooperative, go to your school’s

archdiocese and speak to the head of the Catholic schools in your area. You also can

write to your Bishop, telling him why you want Italian in your school. Send a copy of your

letter to the school principal.

Private Schools: Talk to your school’s Board of Trustees chairman and write to all

members of the Board of Trustees, asking for support of your project.
HOW TO SEEK FUNDING

FEDERAL FUNDS: Available grants are listed weekly in the Federal Register, the newspaper

Business Daily and on the web: http://www.ed.gov/news.html

Other sources of federal funding can be obtained from the following agencies:

1.Department of Education:

400 Maryland Ave. SW - Washington, DC 20202 - WEB: www.ed.gov/

2. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)*

1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW - Washington, DC 20506 - WEB: www.neh.gov/

3. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) **

1100 Pennsylvania Ave NW - Washington, DC 20506 - WEB: www.nea.gov/

**The NEA funds Italian Art Summer Seminars and Institutes.

for language study. Most publish this list in July for the grants available the next year.

Contact the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in Washington, DC for a list of

other grants available in your state. Web Site: www.nasaa-arts.org/

PRIVATE FUNDS: Explore getting grants or scholarships from your local Italian American

cultural organizations and large local companies and corporations. Other sources:

The Foundation Center is a non-profit group that offers free information about education

and culture grants. Its field offices in five cities have libraries you can visit. They also give

information over the telephone and on their website: www.fdncenter.org

ATLANTA Web Site: http://foundationcenter.org/atlanta/

CLEVELAND Web Site: http://foundationcenter.org/cleveland/

NEW YORK Web Site: http://foundationcenter.org/newyork/

SAN FRANCISCO Web Site: http://foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco/

WASHINGTON, DC. Web Site: http://foundationcenter.org/washington/

Need help writing your grant proposal? Your school or county education department has a

grant office with experts who can help you refine your proposal. Always show your proposal

to one of these professionals before submitting it. Also, the Adult Education Programs, run

by the School Systems, offer courses on how to write grants. COPILAS will offer workshops

on grant writing. Let them know that you are interested in attending a workshop.

Contact the Italian Embassy or nearest Consulate for Italian government grants.
HOW TO APPROACH YOUR LOCAL MEDIA

Getting your message into the local newspaper or evening T.V. news is one of the best

ways to get the attention of your school board and principal, who might not initially seem

willing to offer Italian. However, use good judgment or it may hurt your cause. Remember,

you have to convince people with many compelling reasons why they should offer Italian to

their students.

THINGS TO DO:

Make a list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all local daily, weekly, city,

and suburban newspapers as well as your local radio and television news stations.

The public library might have Bacon’s Media Directory with this information.

Do your homework. Create a typed "fact sheet" that lists in short, bullet form:

The languages currently taught at your school

The results of your student survey showing interest in Italian

How much it would cost to teach Italian at your school

Why all students would benefit from learning Italian

The number of Italian Americans in your city, if significant.

Your name and telephone number.
After you have all your facts ready, request an Editorial Board meeting with the editors of

your local newspaper to encourage them to write an editorial on the issue.

Send a "Letter to the Editor” urging that your school introduce Italian, stating facts as per

above and including a name and a number where readers could get more information. The

Letters to the Editor" column is one of the most popular columns in any newspaper. Many

people read it and you might gain supporters.

Always send "Thank You" notes to all editors, reporters, etc. who meet with you or run any

article about your cause, telling them how useful the meeting or the article was.

THINGS NOT TO DO:

Do not imply that Italian Americans are being discriminated against.

Do not complain by phone or in a letter if an editor does not run your story

immediately. Editors may still use the story at a later time, especially if you give

them specific information and offer solid facts.

Do not be impolite. Remember, they are always looking for legitimate stories that